The following references are reviewed below.
Referring to U.S. Pat. No. 3,602,244, there is described and illustrated a valve assembly for use with a spout and a spray head. The assembly is best seen in relation to FIGS. 4 and 5. The operation of the valve is assisted with an antisiphon check valve (item 17) which prevents back flow into the supply pipe 13. When the water is turned on, water will flow into the body 24 as seen in FIG. 5, through opening 51 passing the outlet 20 of the spout 10. When the spray is activated water will then flow out the passageway 59 as a result of a differential pressure that exists which compresses the boot 46 as seen in FIG. 4 thereby raising the collar button 53 terminating the flow to the outlet 20. At this time the diaphragm 16 of the check 17 covers the opening 35 in the valve body because of the reduced outlet pressure. However this reference does not teach a spring in a plunger assembly or a diverting mechanism. The diversion is caused by the operation of a hand spray, the operation of which creates the pressure difference. But the supply hose of the spray is always under pressure and therefore may leak or even burst and cause considerable water damage.
Referring now to U.S. Pat. No. 3,913,605, there is taught a tub spout assembly adapted to be attached to a hand spray unit. A diverter valve is provided as best seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 which based on the operation thereof will divert water to the hand spray. When the diverting valve 26 is operated, the cup 60 is raised until the lip 70 contacts the seat 30 as best seen FIG. 4. Water entering into the diverter chamber 22 will exert an upward force on the inside lip 70 which force is sufficient to hold the lip 70 against the seat 30 thereby blocking the flow of water. No water will then be able to pass to the tub outlet 24. The reference lacks the teaching of a plunger spring and a plunger in a diverting apparatus.
Referring now to U.S. Pat. No. 4,116,210, there is a taught a diverter spout assembly as best seen in relation to FIG. 1 mounted on a supply pipe and including a passageway from the supply pipe to a discharge opening. A valve is operably mounted in the passageway to open and close the discharge opening and the alternate water path. The slide valve may be operated which will open aperture 24 to provide a passageway from the inner chamber 20 to divert water to and from the spout. The valve also includes an anti-siphoning feature. Again, this construction lacks the spring and the plunger of the present invention.
Referring now to U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,653, there is illustrated an anti-siphon diverter valve as best seen in relation to FIG. 1 in which as a result of a differential pressure between chambers 93 and 95 will move a shuttle in forward or reverse direction preventing undesirable knocking. When the spray is turned on, water supplied from the inlets 16 and 17 will create a high pressure in chamber 95 which allows the pressure from the water supply to press down on the lip valve member 32 which will result in the spout outlet receiving no water when the spray is turned on. This structure lacks a diverter which may be manually operated. The diversion is caused by the operation of the spray. The spray and supply hose therefore always have water present and are subject to water hammering and leakage or bursting. As a result of the consequence of operating the spray, the pressure differential is created which causes motion in the shuttle with the risk of water hammer and hose bursting.
Referring now to U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,524, there is illustrated a diverter valve including a valve body with a central passage which includes a spring biased design as best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4. The valve may be used with a faucet and auxiliary outlet and is mechanically biased toward a position to allow flow to pass to the spout. As a result of the manual movement of the valve member, the flow will pass to the hand shower unit. The valve will return to its original position upon the manual operation thereof to the first position.
Referring now to U.S. Pat. No. 6,381,770, there is taught an extendible bathtub spout as best seen in relation to FIG. 1 which includes in a preferred embodiment near the end thereof a combination check/diverter seen in FIG. 4 and as seen in FIG. 5 when that check/diverter is operated the flow will revert to the hand shower unit. No diverting valve assembly is described incorporating a plunger assembly design which is spring biased.
Finally, referring to U.S. Pat. No. 6,668,393, there is taught a height adjustable diverter spout assembly which includes a sleeve having an external threaded surface for deck mounting the sleeve, the exterior of the sleeve being threaded in part at least to interact with the interior threads of a sleeve for relative height adjustment of the spout interface. The installation is best observed in relation to the FIG. 2 and the sleeve interface at item 18. Clearly, the mounting of the spout with respect to this '393 patent involves a much more involved assembly than the present invention. Further, this assembly does not include for a flow regulator adjacent the outlet to the hand shower supply hose.
Nowhere within the prior art is there found a replaceable diverting cartridge for a spout post assembly which cartridge may include a pressure/flow regulating device to prevent water hammer and over-pressuring of the supply hose for a hand held shower unit when provided. Should the user of the installation desire at some point in time to replace the spout with a more aesthetically pleasing one, they merely replace the spout by disengaging it from the body and attaching the new spout. Therefore, there will be no requirement for removing the post or cartridge and the necessary repairs to the adjacent area of the valve. These features are not found in the prior art units.
It is therefore a primary object of this invention, to provide a universal kinetic diverting spout post assembly for a roman tub or deck installation in an integral structure which is entirely reliable and easily serviced.
It is also another object of this invention to provide a cartridge for a diverting spout post which offers the advantage of easily replacing the cartridge assembly.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a diverting spout post body which allows for the simple replacement of the spout by a standardized connection to the body of the assembly.
It is yet a further object of this invention to provide a diverting spout post assembly including plunger assembly which seals either the spout outlet or the hand shower outlet.
Further and other objects of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art when considering from the following summary of the invention and more detailed description of preferred embodiments illustrated herein.